


Under The Sea

by Minew



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Genderbend, Genderswitch, Merfolk!AU, Romance, fem!exo, mermaid!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 09:46:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9715937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minew/pseuds/Minew
Summary: It's mating season and Minseon? Well, she hates mating season.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The Syngnathidae Sapiens are real. They're the size of a grown woman's hand and live in all parts of the sea, though are more commonly found in tropical, shallow waters. They look like you and me from the waist and up, a variety of hairstyles and facial features and their hands are usually used for swimming along with their two, small fins on either shoulder blade. From the waist down you'll find the curled tail of a seahorse.
> 
> Their ability to change colors helps them hide from enemies and predators in coral reefs and kelp forests while they search for food on the ocean bed.
> 
> Usually seen in families, the Syngnathidae Sapiens rarely moves away from home and they're often mating within the same family for their entire lifetime. They mate twice a year and because the mortality rate of Syngnathidae Sapiens is about 89 %, they often give birth to as many as 25 offsprings once every mating season. The male carries the offspring while the female looks out for her partner. Syngnathidae Sapiens only stay loyal to their mate in a season and not for the rest of their life.

Minseon has been bored for the past 2 weeks. Everybody around her is pairing up, flirting and batting their eyelashes at their partner and her - well, she has been asked to pair up more than once. In fact it had only been a couple of hours since Jongin last snuck up behind her and gently laced his tail with hers as if she wouldn’t notice. She had sighed deeply as she turned around in the water, unlacing their tails and sent him a glare. He had smiled sheepishly and when she left him to find her hiding spot in the kelp forest he had lowered his eyes. 

It’s not that Minseon finds Jongin unattractive, no, not at all. Jongin sports a beautiful green tail, the colour of the kelp she’s surrounded with and it matches his tan skin perfectly. It’s an honest wonder he’s going after her when they were together last year. Minseon doesn’t really see him as an ex-boyfriend but she knows he sees her as his and the more subtly he tries to make it clear, the more it bothers her. She sighs and forms a bubble with her hands, only to let it float towards the surface. The fish around her seem to be unaware that it’s courting season and sometimes she wonders if she could just ignore it altogether, swim away and be free. Then she’s reminded that she’s a horrible swimmer and that’s why she’s still with same group of people she has been with for the past 15 years. 

Minseon doesn’t know for how long she sits in the kelp forest, tail laced around the seaweed, the body gently swaying in the shallow water. Her long black hair is floating behind her as she’s rocked gently from one side to the other, the dark green of her tail matching the seaweed around her just because it’s easier to hide like this. Normally her tail is a dusty sand that matches her skin and makes her hair stand out in an even starker contrast. She doesn’t know how long she’s been hiding when someone taps her shoulder and she turns around as a flash of panic settles in her. It could be anything but when she finally is face to face with the creature behind her she stares into the wide brown eyes of Luhan’s. He smiles wide and lets a hand fall through his hair, as if it would put his hair in place and she can’t help the snort that escapes her. Luhan looks horrible, he’s still panting slightly like he’s been over exerting himself to get to her and somewhere deep inside she doesn’t even doubt that he’s been swimming faster than he normally does, just to find her.  

“Baekhee said I could find you here,” he says and Minseon nods because of course Baekhee had sent him here. Baekhee with her coral-pink hair and her slightly darker tail would be the only one to tell Luhan (or anyone else for that matter) about her hide-out in the kelp forest. Luhan lets his hand brush through her hair slowly, intimately and Minseon shudders. It only seems to spur the other on and he continues his ministrations until she draws away and clings to the sea kelp with both hands as well. 

“What do you want?” she asks and he pouts a little as he wraps his tail around the sea kelp in front of her, to keep from floating away and spending more energy on getting to her. 

“In 2 weeks, it’s mating and I … uh, I don’t have a partner. Can’t you be mine?” Minseon should have known that it was about mating, should have known that he wasn’t here with a purer motive. “I have good genes, you know that.” She lets her eyes roam over his slim body and keeps herself from giggling. Luhan is good-looking but his genes are not exactly screaming ‘survival’. His tail is transforming from the usual dusty brown to the green of the kelp around them, the colour slowly creeping from his waist and towards the tip of his tail. Minseon shakes her head a little.

“Maybe I’ll just not mate this year,” she says seriously and Luhan widens his eyes. 

“What?” he asks and she nods.  

“Yeah, it’s not like it’s important. Seyoon and Baekhee will be mating anyway, you guys don’t need me.” Luhan tilts his head while he looks at her skeptically. 

“You’re the weirdest person I’ve ever met. How can you not want to mate? Half of us are courting you anyway.” She scoffs at that because it’s true and it’s annoying. And so she lets go of the sea kelp with her arms and makes an overexaggerating gesture.

“That’s the problem! You’re all after me, when there are other nice girls out there. I don’t want any of you, you’re boring. Jongin got possessive after last year, I don’t want you to turn possessive either. And Joonmyun is still moping around. What is it with me that makes you all want to mate with me?” Her voice raises throughout and at the end she’s practically yelling, a few clownfishes turning around to stare at the two of them disapprovingly. Minseon waves a hand in their direction as if to ask them to mind their own business. Luhan places his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. 

“You’re beautiful and your genes are amazing. Your personality is perfect and you’re … well, you’re hot, ok?” She shakes her shoulders as if to shake him off. He doesn’t give up that easily. “Give me a week. If you don’t find anyone else in that week, let’s be together. Just this season, you can go back to Jongin in the fall if you want. Seriously. A week, Minseon?” He releases her shoulders and reaches a hand towards her, pinky extended. She closes her eyes. A week, a week would be all she needed to get away and find someone else and - if Minseon is honest, the idea of not mating this season is really off-putting. She’s sure she won’t be able to not do it. In the end she opens her eyes and laces her pinky with his in a promise. 

“One week. You should court to me, though.” He nods with a wide smile and when he turns around and swims away from her, he fist-bumps the water before he grabs a turtle that conveniently swims by. She hears a faint ‘see you, sweetheart’ before he’s long gone with the new transportation he has found and she grabs onto the sea kelp she has been clinging to for the last hours. 

As she lowers herself to the sea bottom her tail transform from the green and back to the dusty sand. She finds a stone and as her long hair touches the surface of the grey rock beneath her she closes her eyes. Minseon doesn’t count the seconds she’s on the rock before she suddenly feels steps on the ground and opens her eyes. She barely rescues her tail before a crab closes it’s claw in now free water. She squeals, grabs onto the sea kelp and frantically swims a few centimetres towards the surface, just enough to be out of reach. The crab stares up at her and she glares at it.  

“Asshole,” she mutters before she slowly ascends towards the surface.

She needs to get back to the others, they’re probably going to be worried if she doesn’t return before the night and she doesn’t really want to be alone for much longer anyway. She misses Baekhee and Seyoon, the boys she could do without. But the two girls are the only ones she has that sort of understands her. Baekhee doesn’t understand why Minseon isn’t happy with all the attention she’s getting and Seyoon is still trying to figure out whether she has to court the boys or if they’re gonna court her. 

Minseon swims her way back to her home in the coral reef and she only reaches home as the moon lets its light shine its way through the shallow water. Baekhee grabs her arm as soon as she recognises the older girl and Minseon panics shortly in fear that it’s one of the boys or a stingray. It’s neither and she breathes relieved.

“Baekhee,” she scolds but the younger girl isn’t having any of that. The girl with short pink hair and a now dark brown tail sends the older a glare and drags her into their small little cave. It’s a little hole between two corals and it most certainly can’t hold all three girls but Baekhee has declared it their meeting spot and a boy-free zone. Thankfully Seyoon isn’t there so it’s not too tight today. Minseon sighs and raises an eyebrow but Baekhee just glares at her, hands on her waist, tail tapping an impatient rhythm on a stone below.  

“Where have you been? Hiding in the kelp forest for this long? I thought you’d been eaten by a sting ray or something, you know it’s their season as well! Have you any idea how scared we were? What if you didn’t get to mate this season?” Minseon laughs and it only causes Baekhee to be even more offended. 

“Really, you were afraid I wouldn’t get to mate?” she asks. Baekhee rolls her eyes as if it is the most obvious thing in the world.  

“Of course, I gotta know if you choose Jongin again this year like he wants you to. He’s been all over you!” Minseon shivers at the thought and almost looks over her shoulder to make sure he’s not lurking behind her, ready to someone curl their tails together again.

“I don’t want to be with Jongin. I mean, he was a wonderful mate last year, but we’re over, there’s nothing there, there never was. Just because he carried the babies last year for two seasons doesn’t mean we were anything serious and he knows that! Everybody knows that, Baekhee. You never stick to the same two seasons so you have absolutely nothing to tell me.” Baekhee crosses her arms offended but can’t counter the statement because it’s true. She hasn’t been with the same guy for more than one season.  

Minseon liked Jongin last year but she doesn’t like him anymore. Last season was more because of practicality because none of their 20 offsprings in the first season had survived and Jongin has great genes. The fall season had been a lot better, 5 of them had survived and that was all she had needed. And despite Joonmyun’s constant courting she’s never getting back together with him. Minseon still remembers the first season she had been mating and had been with Joonmyun and he had been a nightmare. She doesn’t want that ever again, all nagging and demanding. Baekhee doesn’t get to counterattack before a yawn makes its way through her lips and she scowls a little. 

“Don’t say it, okay? Goodnight.” She lets the tapping die out as she wraps her tail around a small stone that peaks out of the sand, enough to anchor her to the place and closes her eyes. Minseon knows she isn’t asleep yet, Baekhee never sleeps that easily, but if it ends the conversation then Minseon is more than happy to let her pretend. 

She swims from the small cave and finds a place in between the colourful corals, wraps her tail around one of them and closes her eyes, but she doesn’t fall asleep. 

 

She’s awakened with a startle when someone places something warm on her bare shoulder and wraps what feels like tentacles around her waist. Minseon screams and tries to get away but the thing that’s clinging to her is holding on tight. Then she hears the soft giggle and feels the warm breath on her ear and she scowls. Jongin. Her tail has lost its grip on the coral and the colour is a stark electric blue. 

“You were floating away, baby,” he whispers into her ear and she shivers at the feeling. With much force she pries his hands off of her and turns around to face him. 

“Jongin, please, we’re not together.” She doesn’t get to say anymore before someone has pushed Jongin a good 10 centimetres away. Jongin seems surprised at the sudden force until they both spot Luhan coming from the left. Minseon sighs. She hates mating season with a passion. 

“That’s right, she’s with me now,” Luhan states proudly and Minseon decides that she doesn’t want to be a part of the fight. The fact that they’re fighting over her is bad enough and the knowledge that it’ll probably turn into something physical is even worse so she turns her back to the now arguing boys and swims away. She really doesn’t want to be with either of them but she promised Luhan. If only Jongin would just stop being so possessive. 

She doesn’t know where she’s going, the current has shifted in the night while she slept and she’s a little confused but very determined to get away. It takes an hour or two before she realises she’s at a part of the reef she’s never been. The corals are more dull, looks more dangerous and the shadow of a stingray on the sand has her frantically pushing towards the corals in order to hide, her skin tan and her tail and hair a muddy sand to camouflage her as good as possible. Her tail is drawn as close to her body as possible to avoid crabby claws and she’s looking around. 

She has to get back home to safety before she gets eaten and as she turns around to find the safest way home she spots him. He’s alone, it’s obvious. His colours match hers, the beige of the sand reflected in his tail and the murky brown of the corals mirrored in the hair that floats around his head like a halo. Minseon peeks out from the corals she’s currently hiding behind to get a better look at the other at the same moment he turns his head in her direction and they get eye contact. Minseon swears, in that moment, that that is the man she wants to make hers. She doesn’t want Jongin or Luhan or Joonmyun or anyone from back home because they’re familiar, but this one, this stranger in the outskirts of the reef, this is who she wants to mate with. 

Suddenly Minseon doesn’t hate mating season all that much. Until he turns around and leaves her alone in the reef and the sound of a claw closing is terrifyingly nearby. She has only heard the sound when she feels the pain and quickly turns to look towards her tail, a crab barely holding onto it, but the pain is excruciating and she sees white for a second or two before she feels the adrenaline. 

“Let go,” she hisses, grabs her tail with both hands and pulls it from the crab’s claw, but the small crab is stronger than it looks and it tugs her down towards the sand. Panic starts rising in her the closer she gets to the crab. She doesn’t want to die, not today. She grabs a stone from the sand and throws it towards the hard shell of the creature and then another one. When it doesn’t work, she desperately reaches towards the corals and clings to them with all she has. The crab pulls one way and it hurts so bad Minseon is afraid she’ll lose her grip when something grabs the crab from behind and pulls it off of her. She hurries behind the coral when she sees an octopus feeding on her earlier attacker and it’s only when she finally calms a little from the shock that the pain shoots back through her body. 

Minseon whimpers as the brings her tail closer to inspect it. It’s bleeding and she lets a finger run over the wound to examine the damages. It doesn’t seem to be a very deep wound and she doesn’t have to swim far to find a brown sea weed that can she can wrap around her tail. Swimming very far, however, is painful and instead she relaxes back against the corals, sinking back against them and shielding her from danger. Minseon has to grab a hold of the coral with her hands to make sure she doesn’t float away in the current that only seems to get stronger. She’s scared and she keep blaming herself for being stupid enough to leat the current bring her away from the kelp forest. If only she had gone to where she knew she could be safe. 

She’s close to tears when she shakes her head and wills herself to stop being so pathetic. It won’t bring her back home to cry, nobody is going to come looking for her. Not even Jongin. Slowly she makes her way against the current, in the direction she believes is home. From coral to coral she swims, her speed dramatically slowed and every time a sting ray shadow floats over the seabed she spends 5 minutes or longer waiting in the shadows of the corals. 

The moonlight is shining through the water when she finally returns to the colours she’s known almost all her life. Seyoon has transformed into her usual midnight blue when Minseon finally spots her and the young girl spins around at the call of her name, her braid cutting through the water.  

“Minseon!” she exclaims, hurrying as much as she can until she has her hands wrapped tightly around the older girl. “We thought you had died!” Minseon feels her body shake before she’s realising she’s crying. Seyoon gets taken aback at the older girl sobbing on her shoulder but doesn’t let go of her embrace. 

“I was so scared,” Minseon whispers into the water and Seyoon gently guides her back to the others. The first one to meet them is Baekhee who promptly notices the seaweed wrapped around Minseon’s tail and she quickly fetches Yixing and Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo clicks his tongue as he eyes her injury but he doesn’t ask any questions as he tends to her wound and wraps another piece of seaweed around it. Yixing, however, looks at her with questions in his eyes and Minseon lowers her face to avoid his gaze.  

“What happened?” he asks in a low voice but neither of them gets to say more before Minseon is wrapped in four strong arms, a man on one side of her each. They lightly push at each other, while they try to embrace her. Minseon sighs and push them both a little away.  

“Stop it, let go of me,” she says, voice raw from the earlier sobbing and both men draw a little away, but only enough for Luhan to still play with her now midnight blue coloured hair and Jongin to lace his fingers with hers. Luhan glares at Jongin and Jongin glares back at him and Minseon decides to ignore both of them as she frees herself and announces that she’s going to sleep. She can’t hold onto the coral with her tail so she wraps a thin piece of seaweed around a coral and then she secures it to her wrist before she closes her eyes. Murky brown hair swims before her eyes before she drifts away.  

 

Minseon returns to her daily schedule of being courted, hiding and coming back home a little before the night comes. It’s been 5 days and Luhan is sure he’s won her over by now, his small gifts of pearls and shells on display in her hair. He still hasn't been able to link his tail with hers but Minseon has told both Jongin and Luhan that tail-lacing is off limits until the wound has fully recovered. It doesn’t hurt anymore and the shock of almost dying is no longer affecting her, but it’s a wonderful excuse to get rid of the two of her most incessant bachelors. Baekhee thinks she’s stupid for using it as an excuse and Seyoon keeps complaining that Minseon won’t allow her to arrange her hair into a beautiful bun, using the pearls Luhan has brought her. 

It’s early in the morning when Minseon goes to wake up Baekhee. The water is still a little cold from the night, the sun’s rays have yet to warm up the surface and Baekhee shivers a little. 

“Do I have to come?” she asks and Minseon nods. They swim, Baekhee slowly waking up when they reach the outskirts of the coral reef and the colours turn to brown and beige instead of blue, green and pink. “This is dangerous,” she says as she eyes the wide seabed of sand and only a few rocks and seaweeds. Minseon drags her behind a brown dying coral and shushes her.

“I need to show you something,” she whispers and points in the direction of the open sea and Baekhee blinks, not seeing anything. The younger tilts her head irritated and stares at Minseon, but the older just gasps and stares towards the open ocean. It takes a few seconds before Baekhee’s curiosity wins her over and she turns her head to follow Minseon’s gaze and what she sees is enough to drop her jaw. 

“But…?” she says, stunned by the lonely man hiding a rock, making sure the coast is clear before he swims towards the brown corals. Minseon is completely enchanted with his looks. His hair is beige, a blonde that suits him so well that Minseon is positive she would prefer this look any day over the murky brown. As he reaches the coral his tail transform so it is better camouflaged and his skin gets tanner. “Who is he?” Baekhee hisses into Minseon’s ear and Minseon wakes up from the trance the stranger has brought her in. She shakes her head a little before she faces Baekhee. 

“I don’t know, but isn’t he beautiful?” Baekhee scoffs. 

“Why were you even out here? Is it here you got attacked?!” Baekhee curls her tail a little more together and floats a little higher in order to avoid crabs. Minseon laughs fondly but her sound attracts the attention and the stranger and before she knows it, a soft hand is covering her mouth, a warm chest pressing against her back and Baekhee going wide-eyed. 

“Ssssh,” a soft voice whispers into her ears. The hand lets go of her mouth and Baekhee automatically hides a little behind the older girl, hands gripping her shoulders tightly to make herself as small as possible. Baekhee is loud-mouthed and usually not that cautious but the fear of being far from home is making her eerily quiet. The stranger sends them a smirk and points towards the seabed. “They can hear us.” Baekhee whimpers a little from behind Minseon and Minseon turns to look over her shoulder at the chocolate coloured hair. “Don’t be afraid,” the stranger says again and Minseon returns her attention to him. “You’ll be able to get home fine! From the reef, no?” Minseon nods and sends him a kind smile. 

“Yeah, do you … do you live here?” She nods towards the open sea and the stranger shrugs a little.  

“Here and there and everywhere.” And before Minseon thinks she has blurted out ‘want to come visit us?’ Baekhee squeezes her shoulder so hard it makes her wince and the stranger smirks a little before he shrugs once more.  

“Okay,” he says but starts swimming before either of the girl has had time to introduce themselves or lead the way. Baekhee swims close to Minseon all the way home and Minseon barely gets to introduce herself to the stranger before Jongin has squeezed himself beside her and put a hand protectively around Minseon’s waist. 

Back home in the safe environment Baekhee returns to her colourful self and Seyoon comes to greet them. She’s followed by Zitao whose hair is rather ruffled and Minseon can’t help but smile knowingly at the younger, who blushes a pink that could rival the coral she’s beside. Nobody else seems to notice. The stranger introduces himself as Jongdae and Minseon has to pry Jongin off of her and state loud and clear (to Baekhee’s obvious amusement) that she doesn’t have a mate. Luhan stares at them from the sidelines and Minseon decides she’s had enough of the jealousy that’s obvious in the waters, so she leaves. Tied to her usual sea kelp with eyes closed and the silence of the ocean around her, she finds comfort and relaxes. She’s high enough to avoid crabs and she’s not too close to the surface to be in danger of stingrays. She gets startled when she feels the kelp move with force and she opens her eyes only to look at Jongdae, the stranger, who sends her a soft smile. 

“Hiding from your mate?” he asks and Minseon sighs deeply and grabs the kelp with her hand to make sure she’s steady. 

“He’s not my mate,” she says and Jongdae nods in silence. There’s silent except for a couple of sea lions somewhere swimming through the kelp forest. “Why are you traveling on your own?” she asks after a while and he shrugs, eyes closed but he doesn’t say anything. It only spurs on Minseon’s curiosity. “Don’t you have a mate?” This time he doesn’t move at all and Minseon feels like she got too private. Maybe he lost his mate this mating season and maybe that’s why he’s traveling alone. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.” She keeps quiet after that. It isn’t until she feels something softly touch her dark green hair that she turns around to face him again.  

“You’re beautiful,” he says and she scoffs and shakes her head slightly. 

“Don’t, I’m not even considering mating this season.” He widens his eyes at the news and blinks a couple of times. Minseon feels like laughing at his reaction. 

“Why not?” he asks after a couple of seconds and it’s Minseon’s turn to shrug. “You have nice genes,” he compliments again and Minseon wants to deny that her heart rate rises a little. There’s something different about the stranger - or maybe it’s just because he’s a stranger. Instead of letting it affect her, she changes her position so she can look directly at him. 

“Tell me about yourself,” she exclaims and he sighs. He does tell her a little about himself, mostly irrelevant facts like how his favourite colour is the murky brown of the seaweeds of the outskirts or that he once got clawed by a crab on his arm. He even shows her the scar and she laughs at him and gently shows him her tail, still wrapped in a piece of brown seaweed, now contrasting greatly with the green colour of her tail. He smiles fondly at her and tells her to watch out, that she isn’t as used to adventures as he is and she pouts and tells him it’s not her fault that she’s a bad swimmer. 

Luhan snatches her hand the second they arrive back home and tells her he has something very important to show her. Minseon can’t forget Jongdae even as Luhan tries to remind her of the deal.  

“Minseon?” he says. “Are you even listening?” She blinks.  

“What?” she asks and he sighs exasperated.  

“The deal? A week and then you would be my mate? Remember?” She side eyes him until she remembers that yes, she did say that. And then she changes her mind. She doesn’t want to mate with Luhan.  

“I found someone else,” she says and even surprises herself. Luhan blinks before he groans. 

“Don’t tell me Jongin actually managed to win you over for a third season.” He glares at nothing in particular and Minseon shakes her head. No, it’s definitely not Jongin again for a third season. And then Luhan follows her gaze towards the small group of their family and the newcomer and growls. “It’s that stranger, isn’t it? I’m going to kill him.” Minseon grabs his bicep and holds him back. 

“Luhan, stop, maybe next season?” He scowls but stays put when she slowly releases him. “Don’t do anything to Jongdae, it’s not his fault.” Luhan doesn’t say anything when he leaves her and Minseon looks towards the seabed, actually feeling a little down over the rejection she had just given. She had known so long before that she didn’t want either, but to see him be so sad does tug at her heart a little.

When she joins her small family Seyoon sneaks behind her and suddenly grabs her hair, a triumphant ‘aha’ sounding throughout the reef as she finally gets to put Minseon’s hair into a bun and ties the small pearl-band around it.  

“I told you that you would look wonderful with your hair like this! Should have listened to me earlier on.” She pouts and Minseon laughs and embraces the younger girl. Yixing and Joonmyun looks up from their conversation and Kyungsoo shyly approaches Baekhee to whisper something into her ear. The girl giggles a little but pecks his cheek nonetheless and Minseon feels a pang in her heart. She wants her mate soon but she can’t court Jongdae. That would be wrong and she has no idea how to court anyone anyway, so she stays quiet with the pang in her heart.

 

Minseon wakes up in the middle of the night to an upset ocean, the current stronger and water darker without the moon. She grabs onto the coral with both hands to make sure she stays where she is and quickly scans around to make sure her family is safe. They’re all there however and so she sighs of relief. That is until her gaze falls on Jongdae. He’s not tied to anything and the water roughly takes him from one side to the other, yet he stays still, as if he’s missing something. Minseon squints before she takes a rash decision and lets go of the kelp, only to swim closer to him. The amount of energy it takes for her to reach him is exhausting but when she finally does grip onto his biceps, he turns around and wraps his arms around her in an embrace as if to shelter her from the waves. They stay silent while they are rocked by the ocean. It’s rare that the ocean is upset below the surface but something is up tonight, something is different than usual. 

A current brings them closer to a yellow coral and Minseon automatically wraps her tail around it and anchors the two of them. Her tail starts transforming into the clear yellow and Jongdae’s follow soon after. It isn’t until they’re both pale with honey blonde hair and sunny tails that Minseon lifts her head from where it has been resting on his chest. 

“What are you doing out there? It’s dangerous, a stingray might catch you.” Jongdae doesn’t say anything but as they get eye contact she loses all words herself. She feels how Jongdae laces his tail with hers, lets the tip of his curl around hers until they’re bound together by forces that’s stronger than Minseon has ever felt them before. He lets his hand softly touch her cheek and then he smiles. 

“You’re not happy here, are you Minseon?” She blinks, taken aback by the sudden question but she doesn’t remove herself from the intimacy between them. To her own surprise the shakes her head a little, honey blonde hair wavering in the water around her. 

“No,” she admits and feels a pang of guilt surge through her as she’s reminded of Baekhee and Seyoon and of Jongin and Luhan and everyone who waits for her at home. She’s not happy but not because of them, not because of who she’s surrounded but rather because of all the things she has yet to see.  

“Come with me,” he offers and Minseon turns to look up at him. Then logic and rationality comes back and the magic seems broken as she gently removes Jongdae’s hand from her cheek and untangles her tail from his.

“I can’t. It’s mating season, it’s too dangerous to go roaming around.” Jongdae’s eyes fall a little, his gaze searching the seabed and he slowly drifts away from her. Minseon grabs his forearms before he gets too far away. “Jongdae, be my mate. Just this season.” He looks genuinely surprised and Minseon scolds herself mentally for being so aggressive. It’s not her job to court the men, it’s their job to court her. And outside of Jongdae curling his tail around hers, he has done nothing to actually show that he wants to be her mate. Yet Minseon can’t stop herself when she bats her eyelashes at him and soundlessly begs him to say yes. 

“We can’t,” he says and tries to pry her off of him but without success. Jongdae looks at her. 

“It’s only a couple of days until the eggs are mature enough to be transferred, you know this! I don’t want Jongin or Luhan or anyone of them, I want you. Please, Jongdae.” She feels her heart beat in panic of rejection and casts her eyes down to look at the seabed, only to catch a crab the size of a monster and before he has said anything she squeaks, lets go of the coral and drags him towards the surface. Jongdae looks surprised until he catches sight of the crab beneath them and he sighs in relief. 

“Thank you,” he says, well-knowing that if Minseon hadn’t seen it, they would have both been dead, the crab completely silent in the upset waters. Minseon grabs onto his hand, just to know they’re both safe and that she’s not alone and he sends her a shy smile. “Okay, one season. But then I’ll be on my way again, I can’t stay with you guys forever.” Minseon nods, one season is more than fine, it’s all she wanted in the first place. As the water slowly calms the two of them swim back home and Minseon is attacked by Baekhee who instantly drags her to the cave to hear what happened, gossip included.

 

Jongin glares viciously at them from behind the sea kelp. Minseon spotted him as soon as he arrived and while his presence makes her uncomfortable, she tries to ignore it as Jongdae tells her about colder and deeper waters. 

“The shadows are huge,” he says and gestures wildly with his arms to indicate just how big the great white had been on the seabed. She laughs and he smiles. 

“We have grey whales here once in a while,” she tells him and he widens his eyes in a ‘woah’ and latches onto her hand. 

“Let’s go see them!” he says and she laughs even louder while she shakes her head. His pout makes her heart skip a beat but she ignores it as she tells him that they’re not here right now. That it’s only the sea lions on visit and Jongdae start another tale of a sea lion he had once met. Minseon doubts they actually spoke together, the sea lions she knows aren’t very talkative and she’s also fairly scared of them but she lets Jongdae tell his stories without interruption anyway because she find him stunning. She turns to look over her shoulder, only to get eye contact with Jongin and she sends him a glare that has him stumbling a little back, before he turns around and leaves. When she turns her head, Jongdae is squinting suspiciously at her. 

"Do you even listen?” he asks and she nods automatically and sends him a wide smile. 

“Of course!” Jongdae crosses his arms in front of him. 

“Then what did I just tell you?” he challenges and she tries to find anything that could be what Jongdae had been talking about, but has to give up and shrug. 

“Okay, no, I didn’t.” He tilts his head in question and she waves a hand in front of her face to wave away the question. The movement sends the water in front of her into motion and it makes her hair float in front of her face and she splutters as it gets caught in her mouth. Sometimes she hates being long-haired but she would never make it a bob-cut like Baekhee’s. Maybe she should take Seyoon’s advice and put it up. Jongdae’s laughter bring her out of her thoughts and he grabs her hair and ties it in a ponytail with a small kelp. 

“As I was saying,” he says and continues on with his story, Minseon listening more intently. 

 

The moon is rising above the surface when the two of them return home, only for her to see Seyoon sporting dark lines on her ribs. She grabs the young girl by her shoulder and spins her around so she can inspect the drawing of the pale skin. 

“What’s this?” she questions and eyes Seyoon who blushes a little and turns tan in order to hide the lines a little. 

“Yixing found some ink on a stone and decided to draw on me. It’s nothing permanent!” The older girl eyes the younger and then turns to watch Yixing who just shrugs, unaffected by her gaze.  

“Of course it’s permanent, you idiot. Octopus ink have always been permanent.” Seyoon gapes but then closes her mouth after a couple of seconds.  

“Oh well, then I guess I’ll just sport a nice drawing made by Yixing for all my life,” she scoffs and Minseon whacks her head once before she clicks her tongue in a disapproving manner.  

“It makes you an easier target for predators, don’t you understand?” Minseon never knew it would make her angry to see the younger sport a drawing of octopus ink, but it does. Baekhee giggles and wraps her hand securely around Kyungsoo’s bicep and Minseon looks up to get eye contact with the girl. 

“Please transfer your eggs to Jongdae, Minseonnie, you’re getting aggressive so they’re mature.” And then it hits Minseon that maybe she’s right. Instead of saying anything, she sends Seyoon a reproachful look and grabs Jongdae by his wrist and drags him away. The further away she swims, the more her mumbles of ‘we’re not done talking about this’ and ‘i can’t believe she did that’ die down and when they reach the same yellow coral they’ve been tied to during the upset night, she has no more words to say and she’s left anchored to the coral, Jongdae’s wrist in her hand.

He sends her a soft smile and that makes her heart soar a little and she swallows. They haven’t been talking about it, about mating and what there would become of them. Minseon never really bothered talking about it with anyone because she had been in love with those who she had mated with before. It had been as easy as eating and she’d never thought she’d feel awkward, about to mate. Jongdae, however, releases himself of her wrist only to grab both her hands and lace their fingers together. She knows there’s nothing really intimate about it, because it’s a deal, a promise, not love and she reciprocates his smile as she lets go of the coral and the two of them starts to float towards the surface in spirals.

Neither of them says anything, but it’s awkward and also a little funny and when Minseon begins to giggle, Jongdae lets out a bark of laughter and soon they’re both laughing out loud. He lets go of her hand, only to embrace her and curl his tail around hers, their bodies sharing space. She places her head on his chest and lets her hands gently trace his vertebras. His voice is soft as he starts humming and she can’t help the smile that fights its way onto her lips. Slowly they descend again towards the seabed, the moon casting white rays through the water and illuminating the seabed in a pearly white. Her hair changes slowly to a platinum blonde while his becomes a midnight blue and as their tails hit the soft sand, she lets go of his warm skin and lets herself climb a little higher. She lets her tail trail up his body until she finds his pouch on his left side and closes her eyes. Minseon transfers her eggs to Jongdae and her body feels calm and relaxed as she finishes and sinks again so she can look him directly into his eyes. 

“Thanks,” she whispers in the moonlight and he sends her another smile before he pecks her forehead, smitten by the moment of it all. 

“No problem.”  

 

Minseon wakes up and remembers what happened the night before and she hurries to find Jongdae who is anchored to a green sea kelp, a little from their usual spot. He seems peaceful but she still approaches him carefully. When she’s right beside him she takes a deep breath before she lets out a small ‘hey’. He doesn’t answer but he does turn around to look at her and send her a smile. She lets her tail wrap around the same sea kelp as Jongdae and reciprocates his smile. 

“You okay?” she asks and he nods. It makes her feel a little warm inside, knowing that he is fine and her offspring is going to be beautiful and strong when they’re with him. A couple of seconds go by before he starts laughing a little and he puts a hand on his forehead. 

“Wow, it’s been a long time since I mated,” he says and she laughs a little, if only to lighten the atmosphere. She doesn’t know what to really say, knows she has to take care of him but still not really aware of how they’re going to do everything when love isn’t involved. He pats her shoulder a little and she looks up to get eye contact with the bottle green eyes. “Are you okay?” he asks and she nods.

“Of course, you’re the parent now, I’m just here to take care of you if you need me, you know.” He smirks and she gets the feeling that she’s chosen a particularly difficult partner. When he lets go of the sea kelp with his tails and swims to the next she looks at him with a confused expression. 

“Catch me if you wanna make sure I don’t get eaten and kills all your offsprings.” He laughs and she rolls her eyes of his childish antics but still follows him in his childish play. She laughs when she finally catches him and spins him around, dirty green hair swishing around them. He sends her a fond smile and settles on the sea kelp and she places herself beside him, tails touching as they both wrap around the same sea kelp.  

“Tell me more about the …” she says but gets interrupted when a large shadow covers the sun from above and makes the seabed darker. Jongdae looks up and widens his eyes in fascination. Minseon follows his gaze and smiles fondly when she recognises the grey whale above them, slowly swimming their way. To its left is a calf and Minseon feels her heart swell at the sight of mother and child. She hasn’t been particular about caring for her own offsprings, they never are, but  she’s still fascinated when she sees the whales. Jongdae climbs the sea kelp to get closer to the whale and he reaches a hand out as if to touch it. Minseon laughs below him and the calf dives a little at the sound. When she gets eye contact with the large baby she sends it a smile and she’s sure it sends her a childish smile back.

Jongdae looks awestruck on the top of the sea kelp when the whales breach the surface to breathe before they dive again, disappearing in the horizon. Minseon climbs her way to Jongdae and lightly slaps his tail to get his attention. 

“Did you see?” he asks and turns his attention back to the disappearing giants of the ocean and she laughs again. 

"Come back down here before you get eaten by something, you fool.” She floats closer to him though however and grabs his biceps to steady herself. Jongdae wraps an arm around her and holds her close but his attention is still on what he’s just seen. 

“Are they here often?” he asks and she shrugs. 

“No, I wouldn’t think it was their season, like I told you. Maybe the baby needed warmer waters or more food? I don’t know.” Jongdae sends her a dazzling smile as he turns to her again and she feels her heart soar a little in her chest. She isn’t sure what it is because she definitely doesn’t know Jongdae well enough to love him, not yet. Still there is something inside her that tugs her heartstrings whenever he smiles and she can’t help it but smile back at him in his fascination. Of all the things he’s seen on his travels, it still amazes her that he has yet to see grey whales.

Kyungsoo bemoans the fact that the grey whales had been there when he wasn’t when they come back and Jongdae animatedly tells the rest of the family as if they hadn’t seen them before. Minseon pats Kyungsoo’s shoulder in a comforting manner and tells him not to worry, the grey whales will come back soon enough. Kyungsoo knows, he’s seen them every season they’re here yet he still gets fascinated with them every time. Minseon knows exactly why Baekhee accepted him as her mate this season. Jongdae leaves to go back to the sea kelp forest, says he isn’t going to sleep because he’s going to be on look-out for grey whales and Minseon laughs fondly at his awed fascination but decides to join him. She falls asleep with her head on his shoulder a couple of hours into the night when she gets too exhausted and his arm wrap protectively around her waist. 

 

“Peck,” Jongdae whines and gently pushes at Minseon’s shoulder so she wakes up. He’s pouting and she blinks tired before she realises they have slept in the kelp forest. She yawns and he repeats his request. Minseon doesn’t even think when she leans in and pecks his lips, only afterwards does she realise that they haven’t kissed and that they’re not really in that kind of relationship. They’re mates but nothing more. He doesn’t seem affected by it in any way however as he stretches his arms above his head, then remembers that he was here to see grey whales and not sleep and pouts again. Minseon shakes her head at him and pushes him from the sea kelp and in the general direction of the corals instead. He laughs but continues swimming home and she follows. 

They’re greeted by Yixing and Baekhee who both skeptically eyes them but Minseon just shakes her head a silent no to the question in Baekhee’s eyes. Jongdae settles in a coral and starts talking to Zitao who listens in awe at the stories about tiger sharks and Baekhee grabs Minseon’s arm to steer her away and into the cave.  

“What’s up with you? Why did you stay in the kelp forest all night? You know it’s dangerous out there!” Minseon tilts her head. It’s unlike Baekhee to be so concerned.

“You know I know the kelp forest better than I know the reef. Stop worrying.” Seyoon peeps in from and squeezes in between the two girls, her long hair put in pony tails today.  

“She’s just worried you’ll leave us. The way you look at Jongdae is a way you’ve never looked at anyone before,” the younger helpfully supplies and Baekhee nods. Minseon scrunches her eyebrows together before she shakes her head. 

“No, I don’t. Have you seen him? He’s pretty hot and he’ll be a good father. You know that.” Neither of the two younger girls seem very convinced however.  

“Just … be careful, okay? I don’t want to see you die because you’re too smitten with all of his silly adventures,” Baekhee says and Minseon crosses her arms over her chest offended. She’s not smitten with his silly adventures and she can take care of herself fine. She doesn’t tell them when she leaves the cave though. 

Minseon doesn’t get to Jongdae and Zitao in the blue coral before she’s snatched away by Luhan.  

“I don’t like the way you’re looking at him,” he says and Minseon rolls her eyes exasperatedly.  

“Not you too,” she says and he raises an eyebrow questioningly but she dismisses it. “I really don’t look at him differently than I look at you or Jongin or Baekhee or Seyoon or anyone.” He snorts at that as if she’s just told the most obvious lie. 

“Yeah, right. Seriously, don’t try to deny it. Don’t leave with him when he leaves, Minseon.” There’s a vulnerability in his eyes that surprises her and the way he wrings his hands behind his back tells her there’s more behind it. Something he hasn’t told her, but when she asks he just laughs and tells her there’s nothing. “Just don’t leave, please,” he says before he leaves Minseon alone. She stares after the other who slowly turns the pale sand of the sea bed before he transforms into the dark grey of the stone he sinks below. 

As she reaches the blue coral, Zitao grabs her wrist and tugs her closer and starts retelling Jongdae’s stories excitedly and Minseon shares a smile with Jongdae. 

“Your friends are really nice,” Jongdae says later when he curls around a coral and closes his eyes. Minseon hums a little, because she agrees. She can’t shake their earlier words to her off though, as if they’ve seen something she hasn’t seen herself. She’s fairly sure she isn’t going anywhere when the mating season is over and Jongdae leaves them because she belongs with them. It’s where she’s always been, with the reef and the kelp forest. It’s what she knows, it’s where she knows how to survive.  

“Yes, they are,” she whispers to a lightly snoring Jongdae and she pecks his forehead lightly as to not wake him up. “They’re amazing.” And her mind supplies a helpfully ‘but so are you’. 

 

Days goes on and Minseon finds herself pecking Jongdae every morning, his pout becoming unbearable within a few seconds and she knows it’s weird and stupid because there’s nothing behind the small kisses. It’s all hormones on his part. His pouch grows as the eggs hatches and he starts hanging out with Zitao and Kyungsoo more than he hangs out with Jongin, Luhan and Yixing. Seyoon glares at Zitao whenever he wails because something irrelevant has happened. She’s burning with anger one afternoon because she had been summoned to ‘help him put pearls on a string of sea weed because he hadn’t been able to do it on his own’.  

“I’m never mating again,” she says and angrily throws a stone towards a whitetipped reef shark that snarls at her. She hides behind a rock, just in case it decides to snap and Minseon rolls her eyes.  

“Of course you are, just don’t mate with Zitao again. You chose the wrong mate.” Baekhee pulls Seyoon from the rock and pats her hair gently.  

“Let me braid your hair, it’ll make you feel better,” she says and the young girl allows her to brush fingers through her hair before she starts braiding the long grey-streaked sandy locks.  

“I really hate how demanding he is,” Seyoon sighs and Minseon smiles a little as she nods in understanding. 

“Just cater to his every wish the next two weeks at most, just hope he gives birth sooner rather than later,” Baekhee provides and Seyoon groans of frustration and hides her head in her hands, an action that has Baekhee messing up the braid and lightly slapping her shoulder, scolding her. 

Minseon smiles at her friends before she leaves and goes to find Jongdae. He looks up as she approaches him and automatically purses his lips to beg for a peck. Minseon doesn’t even register the press of their lips but as she draws away she realises his hand is holding her firmly close, obstructing her way back. It sends a chill down her spine, when she realises that he’s kissing her for real, that it’s not just a peck and her heart is sent into a frantic rhythm that could probably kill her if it continued. As he lets go he sends her another pout. 

“You don’t like me?” he asks and she panics. It has Jongdae laughing. “Just kidding, how’s your day so far?” He puts a hand protectively over his bulging stomach and Minseon sighs, tries to will herself to calm down. The kiss meant nothing, there’s no reason to have krill fluttering around in her stomach and she smiles a shy smile as she settles beside him and stares into the ocean, only to witness a giant moray lunging towards a yellowtail clownfish.  

“I don’t know,” she answers honestly and he lets a hand calmly run over her shoulders as if to calm her down.  

“Is it because of me?” The question catches her off-guard and she turns to face him with wide eyes. 

“No!” she exclaims and he tilts his head. “No, seriously, it’s not, you’re great!” She regrets saying that as soon as the words have left her mouth but there’s nothing she can do and the smile that breaks onto his face is infectious and Minseon finds that she doesn’t mind all that much if it means she gets to see his smile.  

“Really?” he asks and she bites her lower lip as she nods. He laughs a little but it doesn’t sound mocking at all and as he laces their hands together, she feels a chill run down her spine. “So what made your day ‘I don’t know’ if it’s not me?” His thumb traces her knuckles gently and she smiles a little as she looks towards their tied hands.  

“Seyoon is mad because Zitao is truly demanding and …” She shuts up like a clam before she says more stupid things but Jongdae isn’t having any of it. 

“And..?” he prompts and Minseon looks towards the seabed before she lifts her eyes to get eye contact with him. 

“Baekhee is scared she’ll lose me and I don’t know how to convince her she won’t.” Jongdae looks away from her but lets their fingers be intertwined. Minseon catches herself staring at him as his hair turns to match the electric blue of the coral they’re anchored to. He doesn't say anything to counter her words nor does he agree with them and it unnerves Minseon a little but she lets the topic die.  

 

“Minseon,” someone whispers and puts a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She lazily hums, barely awake. “Minseon, are you awake?” they continue and Minseon cracks an eye open. The ocean is dark and silent around her and there’s no sun rays so it’s definitely not morning yet. “I’m hungry.” Then she recognises Jongdae by her side and he smiles a little sheepishly.  

“Go find some food then,” she murmurs and turns away from him and wraps her arms around herself, ready to go back to sleep. She isn’t allowed however, as he tugs on her hands and turns her around so she faces him again.  

“Minseon, please, I’m really craving opossum shrimps.” She turns to glare at him. 

“Now?” He nods pathetically and pouts a little. Minseon groans. “Fine. Stay where you are.” He smiles and gives her a short peck and whispers a thank you as she uncurls her tail from the coral and starts searching for the shrimps. She has absolutely no idea where to find them at this time but she swears, she’ll be quick and find them. She floats around here and there, goes from coral to coral but it’s an almost impossible task. 

As she sinks to the seabed to roam around in the mud in the hopes of finding a late-night snack for her mate, she feels the presence of something behind her and turns around, only to find a stingray creeping near. She’s positive it has yet to see her, but she isn’t taking any chances as she hurriedly swims behind a large rock. Damn, Jongdae and his late night cravings.

When she turns around she sees a pair of opossum shrimps in the mud nearby and she hastily takes a hold of two of them before she slowly ascends from behind the rock to make sure dangers is gone. The stingray is nowhere so be seen and so she makes her way slowly back to the electric blue coral Jongdae sleeps in. 

He has fallen asleep when she returns and she just glares at his sleeping form. The more she looks at him, the softer her glare becomes until it has transformed completely into that of a very fond gaze. She smiles a little and eats on of the shrimps in her hand before she lets the other go and curls her tail around the coral and lets herself be rocked back into sleep. 

She wakes up at the soft press of something on her cheek and at first she can’t identify what it is. As she opens her eyes, she realises it’s Jongdae pressing soft fingertips on her face, tracing her features. He seems to be in a trance and he lightly jolts away when he realises she’s awake and looking at him. 

“I’m sorry,” he says sheepishly but she shakes her head. 

“It’s okay, don’t worry. You can touch.” He chuckles but continues his light ministrations on her face and Minseon closes her eyes again, revels in the touch of his fingers. Until she suddenly feels something softer and warmer touch her lips. She doesn’t need to close her eyes to know that he’s kissing her and instead of drawing away, she just lets her arms wrap around his waist and draws him closer. Their kiss is soft, nothing but a press of lips against lips but it feels warmer than the pecks, more genuine than the other kiss they shared and it creates a plethora of emotions in Minseon that scares her as well as leaves her contented. It’s Jongdae that draws away first and he chuckles a little as she follows his lips shortly before she realises what she’s doing and she blushes a faint pink.  

“You’re so cute,” he says and she scowls a little mocking at him. It only causes him to peck her cheek.  

“Don’t play with my heart,” she counters and his gaze falls a little. It’s almost unrecognisable with how fast his entire face lights up with a childish gleam.  

“You know, you almost sound like a human now,” he says and she snorts with laughter. Yeah sure. Humans, who ruin the seas and know nothing, it’s almost an insult but she lets it slide because it’s Jongdae.

“And how would you know, mr. adventure?” she asks and he extends his arms gracefully in the water, only to flinch together when he smacks a queen angelfish over her nose and she harrumphs in offence.  

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” he shouts after the fish before he turns back to Minseon, a more humble look in his eyes. “Because I’ve met humans!” She widens her eyes in amazement and doubt.  

“No way, you haven’t!” Nobody has met humans, humans are dangerous. Jongdae smiles wickedly and nods.

“I have, I can show you?” She rolls her eyes and scoffs.  

“Please, don’t lie to me.” Jongdae puts his hands on his waist and feigns offended.  

“I’m not! I did meet humans!” Minseon doesn’t believe him, it would be stupid to seek out humans and Jongdae is obviously here with her right now, so it can’t have happened. “It’s true!” he exclaims when he still feels her disbelief.  

“Whatever,” she says and Jongdae frowns a little. It makes his forehead wrinkle cutely and Minseon finds herself reaching out to smooth over the wrinkles before she even catches herself. “You saw the humans, if you say so. I totally do not resemble them.” Jongdae smiles a fond smile, mock-offence forgotten as he wraps his arms around her waist instead and pecks her nose. 

“No, you’re cuter.” Minseon can’t stop the blush from creeping up her cheeks and she lets her skin and hair turn into the same rosy colour as to disguise her blush. It stands out a lot more in the electric blue around them and he laughs. He’s about to say something when they’re interrupted and Jongin grabs Minseon’s hand. 

“Minseon, we really need to talk.” With those words he drags her away from the blue coral and Jongdae and the other wraps his hands around his torso as if he’s suddenly all alone in the world. Jongin grabs a beige coral and turns around to face her. She stares at him.  

“What’s so important Jongin?” she asks. She doesn’t hate him. Despite all his possessive qualities and his glares, he’s still a nice guy overall. Jongin looks towards the seabed and she slowly transform back into the sandy beige colour of the coral so she doesn’t stand out more than necessary.  

“You need to stop fawning over him, really. He’ll be gone in a week or less, seriously. Stop it.” Minseon raises an eyebrow. 

“Why do you care?” Jongin rolls his eyes annoyed. 

“Because I care about you, god dammit.” Minseon huffs but lets his words sink in anyway. It’s true that Jongdae will be gone in a week or less, that when he gives birth he’s going to leave her, leave them. But she’s not fawning over him, obviously. They shared one kiss, that was all? It was hormones anyway. So she tells Jongin that and he scoffs. “Why are you so blind towards your own feelings, Minseon? What kind of fucking spell did he put on you?” Minseon stares incredulously at him. 

“So what if I care for him? It’s not like it’s your business Jongin,” she says sternly and Jongin sighs exasperatedly. 

“Whatever. Don’t leave when he leaves and don’t cry. We need you here. Baekhee and Seyoon need you.” Minseon takes a deep breath before she sighs and nods. She knows. 

“I know, Jongin, really, don’t worry about me. Just … leave me alone.” She leaves him alone in the coral as she makes her way towards the kelp forest. She needs to think. 

 

Jongdae goes into labor a couple of days later, his tail changing colours rapidly from electric blue to a muddy brown and his breathing quickening. Minseon stays beside him, rubs his back in a soothing manner. She knows she can’t do much but if it can make him just a little more comfortable then she will do everything. She hasn’t spoken to anyone about her feelings, she has barely spoken to Jongdae ever since Jongin pulled her to the side. She knows that she feels something for Jongdae, but she’s not sure what it is. It’s definitely more than mating though, of that she is sure. She watches him with a sad gaze as his contractions start and he bites his teeth together as to not make a sound. 

They’re hiding in the yellow coral, away from the rest of them. Nobody would have minded if he’d given birth around them, but Minseon doesn’t want them to see him in pain and she doesn’t want to leave him to the others when he’s done. She just wants to be the only one. When his pouch has opened enough, he gives birth to 18 small babies. They float in the water and Minseon looks at her offspring. Half of them aren’t going to survive, that’s a fact, but she’s certain that some will because Jongdae has strong genes. 

When he’s done, he wipes a hand over his forehead and sinks to the seabed to rest. Minseon grabs him under his shoulders before he hits the sand and drags him closer to the yellow coral so she can anchor them. He smiles weakly at her and she sends him a fond smile and pecks his nose. 

“You did well,” she smiles and he nods a little before he closes his eyes, exhausted.  

“You’re not thinking of a second round?” he asks, voice raw from the physical exertion he had just gone through and Minseon laughs a little. 

“No, it’s your first time in a while, you need your rest. Some of them will survive.” He sends her a nod and she kisses his forehead again and holds him close to her chest. 

 

Jongdae recovers quickly and a couple of hours later he’s hugging Kyungsoo before he moves onto the next one. Seyoon sends him a smile and wishes him good luck and Baekhee jokes that she’ll never get as good offspring without Jongdae around to mate with and he laughs. Minseon observes it all from the sidelines, her heart feeling heavy in her chest. Luhan puts a hand on her shoulder and follows her gaze to the group of people. 

“You’re thinking of leaving, aren’t you?” he asks and she sighs and shakes her head. 

“I can’t leave. I’m just … sad, I guess.” Luhan sighs a little before he nods his head towards the kelp forest.

“Follow him on the way but come back to say goodbye.” Minseon is about to protest that she isn’t going to leave but Luhan leaves her when Jongdae approaches them. He sends her a fond smile and she feels her heart speed up.  

“So…” he says and she nods a little and wraps her hands around him. She doesn’t want to look at him or say goodbye so she clings to his shoulder and buries her face in his chest. He’s warm and soothing and she doesn’t understand why she’s so reluctant to let go. “I’ll come back one day, if you want me to. I promised Zitao to come back with new stories about hammerhead sharks.” He chuckles a little fondly before it dies down and the world is silent around them. Minseon softly lets go of him and draws a little away. She looks towards the seabed, afraid to look at him.

“Goodbye then. I guess I’ll see you around.” He nods a little but doesn’t say anything. Instead, he places a soft kiss on her temple before he turns around and disappears into the kelp forest. 

 

Minseon isn’t sure whether or not she’s crying but she knows for sure that her heart feels heavy. Someone puts a hand on her shoulder and she looks up only to stare into Baekhee’s brown eyes.  

“Go, you lovesick fool.” Yixing nods behind her and Kyungsoo laces his fingers with Baekhee’s slowly. Seyoon nods from Minseon’s left side and Jongin blows in her ear from her left side to get her attention. 

“I know we said we didn’t want you to leave, but none of us really want an unhappy Minseon. You mean too much to all of us. So leave, but promise to come back! You know the way home!” She’s staring at them all, eyes blinking wide until Luhan gives her a small push in the general direction of the kelp forest. 

“Go!” And Minseon is absolutely sure she cries a little when she embraces her family before she scurries after Jongdae into the kelp forest. 

“Jongdae!” she shouts and attracts multiple fishes attention. The dark green tail stops and he turns around. “Wait for me!” She swims as fast as she can yet it still feel like it takes forever before she’s wrapped in his embrace. “Let’s find the humans together. And the hammerhead sharks. Because I think I might like you too much to let you go.” Jongdae looks at her with surprise and she bites her lower lip in nervousness. Was this too much? Too quick? Too stupid. Then he breaks into a wide smile and presses his lips to hers, tails curling together and she closes her eyes and lets the current drift them away through the kelp forest.


End file.
